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This weekend, I caught one of the building's maintenance personnel trying to get in our office. No one expected I was taking a nap so it was quiet.

He was surprised to see me there, made a lame excuse and ran off before I could even react.

Well, I reported the incident to my superiors and to the building security. This morning I pointed out the culprit after the management lined them up. Of course he denied it, and tried to discredit me.

I wasn't at all bothered since admin was on my side. It just reminded me of a lesson that my sensei once taught me a long time ago.

He said that, trouble usually starts when mean people stare at you in a provocative way. I got a lot of that from the janitor this morning. He was staring with full blown anger. Sensei called this negative ki, bad energy that you should not allow to enter your soul. When they do this, you don't have to stare back, lest it becomes an unnerving game to topple down the opponent's composure.

So I maintained the "munen mushin" ideology in the situation so that I would not get at all intimidated.

What I'd like to know is that, did I do the right thing? I wasn't looking at the guy, but I have this nagging feeling that I should have countered. Just a bit confused, since Im sure I wasn't at all scared, but I wouldn't want the universe to think im a coward or anything....

He said that, trouble usually starts when mean people stare at you in a provocative way. I got a lot of that from the janitor this morning. He was staring with full blown anger. Sensei called this negative ki, bad energy that you should not allow to enter your soul. When they do this, you don't have to stare back, lest it becomes an unnerving game to topple down the opponent's composure.

So I maintained the "munen mushin" ideology in the situation so that I would not get at all intimidated.

What I'd like to know is that, did I do the right thing? I wasn't looking at the guy, but I have this nagging feeling that I should have countered. Just a bit confused, since Im sure I wasn't at all scared, but I wouldn't want the universe to think im a coward or anything....
Many thanks!
J

You saw an attempted unauthorized entry (break-in). You thwarted his effort. You reported this to the proper authority. You were brave enough to tell the truth. You are not cowardly at all.

If you would have countered his stare, what would you have achieved? Nothing!

IMHO, you did fine.
Calling the guy out to begin with took courage.
It isn't where you put your eyes that matter,
its where you put your mind.
The universe won't think you a coward,
because the universe doesn't think.
If you did what you thought was right,
then accept it no matter what others think.
If you think you should have done otherwise,
then learn from it.

Its not about ignoring negative ki,
its about seeing through it.
(extend)

Lynn Seiser PhD
Yondan Aikido & FMA/JKD
We do not rise to the level of our expectations, but fall to the level of our training. Train well. KWATZ!

Before I was going to the Philippines, I heard that I must not blame or scold one in a public place but talk to him/her in a private place. Probably you know it better than me.

Yeah, I know what you mean. I kinda feel sorry for the guy, I thought we would be called up the the admin's office for me to point him out. Our management was surprised when they (building admin) suddenly lined them up in our office for all to see.

I mean, they didn't have to make a show out the incident. hehehe.

Anyway, a lot of Filipino's are raw when it comes to expressing emotions. Once in a while you'll see a parent publicly scolding a kid, or lovers having a fight out in the open. I've had my share *gulp* But it doesn't happen quite often.

Quote:

I always find it amazing when a person, who knowingly does something wrong, gets caught (and punished) and then blames their "misfortune" on the people who called him/her on their lack of integrity.

Yep, first time I've experienced anyone denying what I said. It was a truly educational experience.

I have a hunch you didn't look away out of fear, but rather out of embarrassment and regret at the position you have put him into. A position I believe you did not intend to put him in.

Big lesson here is not where to look.

The phrase "discretion is the better part of valor" comes to mind. Bringing that into a martial sense, the personal and discreet reporting of the incident to a supervisor you can trust to do likewise. Minimizing public exposure of the incident, not just for the janitor, leaves your employer the greatest amount of discretion to exercise in any event. Whether they see and/or use this discretion is another matter entirely.

Yea, none of this seems related to aikido, self defense, or "munen mushin" until you think of the possible end results. The potential for this man to lose his job over the incident is far more dangerous to you than whatever may have transpired in the office had you not been there.

In the opposite direction the janitor may look on you with respect for your adept handling of a tricky situation ; at best a misunderstanding, and at worst just a poor decision on his part.

I mean, what if like yourself, he was just looking for a quiet place for a nap?

Naturally had the janitor been violent, or some clear and harmful motive discovered, he forfeits consideration before his employer, and/or you individually.

The proper excercise of discretion would allow you to gauge how your response would affect this person's life. Hmmm, sounds a lot more like it relates to aikido, huh?

How did they try to get in the office? Picking the lock? Trying to break the door?

He opended the door using the numeric keypad. The numbers are only known to employees. The Building personnel are off limits, and they know that. We have no idea how he got a number working, but even still, They arent allowed to step in.

Quote:

I have a hunch you didn't look away out of fear, but rather out of embarrassment and regret at the position you have put him into. A position I believe you did not intend to put him in.

hey, good point... i never thought of it that way.

Quote:

The potential for this man to lose his job over the incident is far more dangerous to you than whatever may have transpired in the office had you not been there.

I have a hunch you didn't look away out of fear, but rather out of embarrassment and regret at the position you have put him into. A position I believe you did not intend to put him in.

Big lesson here is not where to look.

The phrase "discretion is the better part of valor" comes to mind. Bringing that into a martial sense, the personal and discreet reporting of the incident to a supervisor you can trust to do likewise. Minimizing public exposure of the incident, not just for the janitor, leaves your employer the greatest amount of discretion to exercise in any event. Whether they see and/or use this discretion is another matter entirely.

Yea, none of this seems related to aikido, self defense, or "munen mushin" until you think of the possible end results. The potential for this man to lose his job over the incident is far more dangerous to you than whatever may have transpired in the office had you not been there.

In the opposite direction the janitor may look on you with respect for your adept handling of a tricky situation ; at best a misunderstanding, and at worst just a poor decision on his part.

I mean, what if like yourself, he was just looking for a quiet place for a nap?

Naturally had the janitor been violent, or some clear and harmful motive discovered, he forfeits consideration before his employer, and/or you individually.

The proper excercise of discretion would allow you to gauge how your response would affect this person's life. Hmmm, sounds a lot more like it relates to aikido, huh?

michael.

My understanding of the original poster was that he stumbled upon the incident. Maybe the suspect was just trying to look for a place to take a nap. Maybe he had some unlawful plan. It was not Rene's place to decide.

It was up to the Right Authority (Management, Building Security) to make judgement.

To suggest to Rene to turn an blind eye to a security violation is not in the best interest to the organization as a whole.

Too much of looking the other way is good breeding ground for more undesirable activities.

Hey if I was the owner of that business and owned that office, I would have been pissed considering the maintenance worker had no authority to enter the office for whatever reason. Who knows what they could have done. The fact that they gave you a lame excuse and ran off shows that they were up to no good.

Would have replied sooner, but my boss flips out even if I do 3 minutes of online banking.

I'll concur that in general practice, yield to and cooperate with the authority involved. I never suggested the willful or cowardly ignoring of anything, only the use of discretion in reporting the incident. What I will suggest, is that short of a life-or-death moment, the default approach of removing oneself from responsibility for action, and relinquishing the ability and basic human right of making a decision is the true Blind Eye.

I've worked for both public and private institutions, and I can tell you I would more likely have reported a potential transgression such as the one described when I was a federal employee, for that would be in the entire nation's interest. But I am not going to possibly ruin someone else's career opportunities to protect some commercial endeavour. Not at the drop of a hat, anyway.

One funny thing I just realized. There are plenty positions across the pay scale where I work, and if an employee were found sleeping they would have a lot of trouble keeping their jobs. Maybe you were off the clock, you were still using company property for personal reasons.

One person's "oops, my mistake" can be seen by another as grounds for termination.

When one looks for wrong done, they find it. How ironic a title for this thread.